Acceptance of GRE Scores Instead of LSAT Catch On

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Summary: Even the ABA is considering removing the requirement of LSAT scores for law school admission.

The University of Arizona School of Law made a move that many criticized and questioned by accepting Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) test scores instead of the standard Law School Admission Test (LSAT). Since then, numerous other law schools have followed suit by adopting their own policies of accepting the alternative exam. Now the American Bar Association is considering dropping the requirement for all law school students to take a standardized test for admission, according to Arizona Public Media.

  

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UA law school dean Marc Miller made the move two years ago to admit students with top scores on the GRE. Implementing this new policy allowed James E. Rogers College of Law to recruit and admit students from other disciplines that had not considered the law as a career and thus had not taken the LSAT. Miller explained, “We can now send out notices to mathematicians, engineers, language specialists, people with bilingual and cultural competency, and say, based on your undergraduate record, which is in the GRE system, based on your scores, we want to encourage you to think about a legal career.”

Should the ABA remove the requirement for a standardized admissions test for law school, all schools would then be individually responsible for admitting students with a good chance of getting through law school and passing the bar exam. The ABA’s Standards Review Committee endorsed the proposal, so a final decision could come shortly.

Miller added, “In other words, put it on us to admit wisely for the outcomes of education. Don’t unduly weight the inputs of education.”

Getting rid of the rule would not abolish the LSAT as many law schools would still use it as a requirement.

Do you think law schools should be able to make their own enrollment rules? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

To learn more about law schools that have started accepting GRE scores, read these articles:

• Columbia Law School Will Accept GRE in Fall 2018
• Washington University in St. Louis Law School Accepting GRE Scores
• Brooklyn Law School To Accept GRE for Fall 2018

Photo: flickr.com